The present invention relates to a method of configuring a blood circuit for medical application. In more detail, it relates to a method of configuring a desired blood circuit for medical application on a computer by systematizing many components constituting the blood circuit into a plurality of unit sections and selecting a component in each unit section.
A blood circuit for medical application includes a blood circuit used for, for example, a dialysis. The dialysis requires not only a dialyzer but also a blood circuit for connecting a patient to the dialyzer. Conventionally, this blood circuit for dialysis varies in specifications depending upon users, i.e., hospitals, doctors, or laboratory technicians. That is, most of the conventional blood circuits are customized for individual users and do not have general versatility. Actually, a large number of different kinds of blood circuit systems are employed.
Since such blood circuits are customized for individual users, the cost is high and it takes a long time to deliver the products to users. In other words, it takes a long time to configure a circuit by repeating trials and errors, which may lead to increased cost. A more important problem is that a dialysis technique is dependent on the experience of in the individual person in charge such as a doctor, a laboratory technician, etc., and a method of connecting each machine to the circuit system and a method of using the circuit system are not systematized. Therefore, a circuit system may be changed subjectively by the individual person in charge. Furthermore, compatibility between different products is not established. Thus, there are problems in safety as a product used directly on the human body. Examples of such problems are a safety problem, for example, failure in fitting of a tool such as an indwelling needle, etc. that is connected to the circuit, and a lack of versatility, that is, because of a difference in length even on the order of only several centimeters, such an apparatus has to be produced based on a different standard.
On the other hand, with the stability of the performance of dialyzers in recent years, the safety of blood circuits, ease of using, and economical efficiency are becoming problems. In order to solve such problems, it is urgently demanded to standardize various components constituting a blood circuit and to provide the stability in quality, convenience, and rapidity in configuring a circuit.
With respect to the demand, JP63 (1988)-95063A proposes that each component is integrated into one piece of a packaged system. However, this proposal has disadvantages in that equipment being connected to the circuit system has less versatility, and that the system is not used conveniently.
Furthermore, there are about 3400 types of blood circuits only in Japan. Conventionally, problems with respect to the conveniences in using, for example, length, location of parts, etc., are adjusted by trial and error and samples are made and attached to a dialyzer. In other words, the adjustments have been carried out by using a real machine.
In order to make samples, it is necessary to make a standard drawing and often calculate the amount of filled blood or length based on the standard drawing. If defects are detected in the test by the use of real machines, there is a bother to start again from the formation of standard drawings.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of easily configuring a blood circuit for medical applications, which is capable of configuring a blood circuit in accordance with the applications.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of configuring a blood circuit for medical applications, which is capable of checking efficiently whether the circuit is fit for a desired specification or not, or capable of efficiently correcting the blood circuit configuration without actually assembling a sample, and an apparatus used for the configuring method.
In the method of configuring the blood circuit for medical application of the present invention, a blood circuit system is formed by dividing a blood circuit into a plurality of sections and preparing a plurality of selectable unit components for at least one unit section. By selecting at least one unit component from each unit section and combining the selected unit components, an individual blood circuit is configured. For configuration, the method includes using a blood circuit system database in which data with respect to the unit sections and the unit components contained in the blood circuit system are stored, inputting one of the unit sections on a basis of the blood circuit system database as an assigned unit section to the computer, extracting the data of a plurality of the corresponding unit components from the blood circuit system database by the computer based on the input assigned unit section and displaying the extracted data on a display, and inputting one component selected from the displayed unit components as a selected unit component to the computer. After carrying out the above-mentioned procedures in the necessary unit section, by the use of the blood circuit system database, an assembly drawing showing an entire configuration of the blood circuit obtained by combining the input selected unit components and at least one of a full length of the blood circuit or an amount of filled blood are displayed on a display. Then, a command for changing the selection of the unit components or a command for determining the configuration of the blood circuit is input to the computer.
According to this method, by only selecting the unit component in accordance with the unit section, it is possible to configure the blood circuit in accordance with the applications easily. Moreover, without constructing a real sample of the blood circuit, it is possible to check whether the circuit is fit for the desired specification or not. Furthermore, in a case where the sample is not fit for the desired specification, only by changing the selection of the unit components, it is possible to check whether the reconfigured sample is fit for the desired specification promptly. Since the blood circuit system can be produced by dividing a plurality of reasonable unit sections from the viewpoint of techniques in dialysis, it is possible to clarify individual features of each unit component. Therefore, it is useful to select unit components appropriately in accordance with the applications.
The above-mentioned method of configuring a blood circuit for medical application further includes, after the procedure of inputting the selected unit components to the computer, selectively either returning to the procedure for inputting the assigned unit section or inputting a selection terminating command for terminating the input of the selected unit components and going to the following procedures; when the selection terminating command is input, if there is any unit section with no selected unit component input, returning to the procedure of inputting the assigned unit section; and if the selected unit component has been input in all the unit sections, going to the following procedures, and if the selection of the unit component is to be changed, returning to the procedures of inputting the assigned unit section.
In the above-mentioned method, if the command of determining the configuration of the blood circuit is input, based on the blood circuit system database, the price of the blood circuit obtained by combining each selected unit component is displayed on the display.
Furthermore, it also is desirable that an existing standard database in which a plurality of existing standards are stored is used, the existing standard being a plurality of the combination of unit components constituting an existing specific blood circuit, and when an assembly drawing, a full length of the blood circuit and an amount of filled blood are displayed, the existing standard being analogous to the configuration of the displayed blood circuit is retrieved and displayed as an analogous standard. Thus, when the existing standard that complies with a desired specification is present, it is not necessary to produce a blood circuit based on a new standard, and thus, the blood circuit can be produced efficiently and economically.
Another method of configuring a blood circuit for medical application of the present invention includes a blood circuit system that is the same as the above, and uses a similar blood circuit system database. The method includes: inputting set conditions including a price with respect to the blood circuit to be configured to the computer; and extracting a predetermined range of candidates of the combinations of the unit components from the blood circuit system database based on the degree of the compliance with the input set conditions. A list of the candidates of the combinations of the extracted unit components is displayed on a display, and a selected assignment of one combination selected from the candidates of the displayed combinations is input to the computer. Next, an assembly drawing of an entire configuration of the blood circuit obtained by combining the selected unit components and at least one of a full length of the blood circuit or an amount of filled blood are displayed on the display in accordance with the input of the selected assignment by the use of the blood circuit system database.
According to this method, it is possible to determine the combinations of unit components constituting a blood circuit easily based on the set conditions from an economical viewpoint or a productive viewpoint.
In the above-mentioned method, it also is desirable that an existing standard database in which a plurality of the existing standards are stored is used, the existing standard being a plurality of the combination of the unit components constituting an existing specific blood circuit. When the candidates of the combinations of the unit components are extracted, an existing standard of the combination having a high degree of the compliance with the set conditions are extracted also from the existing standard database and added to the predetermined range of the candidates of the unit components.
A first apparatus for configuring a blood circuit for medical application of the present invention is an apparatus for configuring a blood circuit for medical application based on the blood circuit system, and includes the above-mentioned blood circuit system database. The apparatus further includes a unit section assignment portion for inputting one unit section on the basis of the blood circuit system database as an assigned unit section; a unit component display portion for extracting data of a plurality of the unit components corresponding to the input assigned unit section and displaying the extracted data; a unit component selection portion for inputting one unit component selected from the displayed unit components, maintaining the data of the selected unit component of all the unit sections, and supplying the maintained data as data of the combination of the selected unit components; and an assembly drawing etc. display portion for displaying an assembly drawing and at least one of a full length of the blood circuit or an amount of filled blood on the display. In the apparatus, the data of the selected unit component in the unit component selecting portion can be changed by assigning the unit section in the unit section assignment portion.
It is desirable that the apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration further includes an existing standard database in which a plurality of the existing standards are stored, the existing standard being the combination of the unit components constituting an existing specific blood circuit, an analogous standard retrieving portion for retrieving a blood circuit that is analogous to the combination of the selected unit components from the existing standard database on a basis of the data supplied from the unit component selection portion, and an analogous standard selection portion having a function of selecting one from the retrieved existing standards by the analogous standard retrieving portion, and instead of in the unit component selection portion, supplying the data of the combinations of the selected unit components on the basis of the selected existing standard to the assembly drawing etc. display portion.
A second apparatus for configuring a blood circuit for medical application of the present invention, similar to the first apparatus, is an apparatus for configuring a blood circuit based on the above-mentioned blood circuit system and includes: the above-mentioned blood circuit system database. Furthermore, the second apparatus includes a set conditions input portion for inputting the set conditions including a price with respect to the blood circuit to be configured; a retrieved combination candidate display portion for, by the use of the blood circuit system database, retrieving candidates of the combinations of the unit components based on the degree of the compliance with the input set conditions, extracting the predetermined range of the retrieved candidates of the combinations of the unit components, and displaying the extracted candidates of the combinations; a selection assignment portion for selecting and supplying one of the candidates of the combinations of the extracted unit components to an assembly drawing etc. display portion as data of the combinations of the selected unit components; and an assembly drawing etc. display portion for displaying an assembly drawing showing an entire configuration of the blood circuit and at least one of a full length of the blood circuit or an amount of filled blood on the display by the use of the blood circuit system database on the basis of the data of the combinations of the selected unit components.
It is desirable that the apparatus having this configuration further includes an existing standard database in which a plurality of the existing standards are stored, the existing standard being the combination of the unit components constituting an existing specific blood circuit, wherein the retrieved combination candidate display portion retrieves the existing standard database together with the blood circuit system database.
Furthermore, it is desirable that the apparatus for configuring the blood circuit includes the above-mentioned first apparatus and the second apparatus and includes an operation selection portion for selecting any one of an operation by the unit section assignment portion or an operation by the set conditions input portion.
In the method of configuring the blood circuit for medical application or a configuration apparatus mentioned above, the blood circuit for medical application is a blood circuit for dialysis and the blood circuit is divided into an artery side circuit and a vein side circuit, further each of the artery side circuit and the vein side circuit is divided into a plurality of unit sections.